'She beat him to death': Florida woman charged in death of 4-year-old son. What we know

A Florida woman has been charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in the beating death of her adopted 4-year-old son, according to the Polk County Sheriff's office.

"We don't believe we know all that this child suffered," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference Wednesday. "We have another video clip where he's face down on the floor and she's beating him on the back, and he's not even resisting it. It's like it's a normal occurrence."

Patricia Boyer Saintizaire, 36, brought Bryan Boyer to the AdventHealth Heart of Florida hospital in Haines City on May 1 with abdominal bleeding, according to a PCSO release. He was flown to Orlando Health but was found to be beyond emergency surgery, the PCSO said. The hospital notified the sheriff's office on May 2 that the child died under suspicious circumstances.

"What we have learned in this investigation just turned our stomachs," Judd said.

Who is Patricia Saintizaire?

Patricia Saintizaire's sister helped her adopt Brian from a woman in Haiti and brought him to the U.S. in April 2023 after a three-year process, Judd said. She had already adopted another son, now 16, from Haiti.

Saintizaire is married and works at the ABC Liquors corporate office in Orlando, Judd said.

What happened to the 4-year-old boy in Davenport?

The 16-year-old initially denied that the younger boy was abused. After he was placed in Department of Children and Families custody, he told detectives that Saintizaire told him, "When they ask you something, say nothing so I don't get in trouble," and that she threatened to kill him by shooting him.

Brian arrived home from Loughman Oaks Elementary that day in a good mood, investigators said after reviewing school and bus cameras and interviewing people who had interacted with him.

The older boy said he was in a different room for about two hours when Saintizaire told him to bring his brother some food. He noticed that Brian was unable to sit up or walk on his own, but Saintizaire said he was "faking it," the release said, and told him to feed the boy anyway.

During dinner, the boy began to "visibly shake," then vomited three times and was visibly lethargic, according to the affidavit.

When Brian became unresponsive the teen began performing CPR and demanded that Saintizaire take him to the hospital. The younger boy began shaking violently again on the way to the car and fell, landing on his back according to the affidavit.

When investigators got a warrant to search Saintizaire's phone they found two clips showing Saintizaire "actively hitting the child with an unknown object while the child is laying on a floor, unresponsive," the release said. Another clip showed her throwing the boy into a swimming pool while his hands were tied behind his back.

In a comment to the PCSO's Facebook page, the department said that apparently the videos were automatically generated by the home's surveillance system. "We do not believe she was aware the clip was on her phone."

"We found an injury where his spleen suffered a significant tear. The medical examiner said it could have been nothing else other than an immediate hard strike to the abdomen," Judd said. "And as the autopsy went on, they found different layers of bruises and injuries from past beatings." The PCSO later corrected the comment to a tear in his liver.

What injuries did the medical examiner find in the 4-year-old boy in Davenport?

According to the PCSO, the autopsy revealed:

• The victim had scarring on his back, with old scarring present, as well as fresh scars that would've occurred while the victim was living in the United States (from April 2023 - May 2024).

• The victim's liver had a deep laceration on it that was caused by a targeted blunt-force trauma injury.

• The liver laceration would have caused a rapid decline in the victim's health; the liver injury would have had effects immediately.

• The victim had no broken or fractured bones but he had bruising/hemorrhage to his arms and legs.

• These injuries are consistent with ongoing abuse.

The boy's cause of death was ruled a homicide by assault/blunt force trauma. "He's dead," Judd said. "He's dead because she beat him to death."

What does Patricia Saintizaire say about the death of her 4-year-old son?

Saintizaire told deputies that the boy had complained he was weak and tired, having had "flu-like" symptoms for a week, according to a police affidavit. She denied ever using physical discipline as punishment, deputies said.

It was unknown Wednesday if DCF officials had ever been called to their home, Judd said.

In his interview the teen boy said both boys were disciplined with a belt and a "homemade hitting device" while they were living in Haiti, the PCSO said in a release.

What was Patricia Saintizaire charged with?

Saintizaire was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and tampering with a witness, Judd said. She is currently being held without bond.

Was Patricia Saintizaire's husband charged?

Saintizaire's husband, Rene, told deputies that she disciplined the children but he did not, the release said.

"Her husband was clearly at work at the time this event occurred," Judd said. "She was the disciplinarian."

Saintizaire and her husband have obtained a lawyer to represent them, Judd said. The 16-year-old is still under protective custody.

The investigation is still ongoing. This is at least the third instance this year in Polk County where a parent or caregiver has been charged with killing a child in their custody younger than 4.

Did Patricia Saintizaire run a daycare?

As recently as last November, what appears to be Saintizaire's social media was heavily promoting a service called "Victory Daycare" or "Victory Kids Transportation Cab," advertising a "safe and reliable door-to-door transportation service for children ages 3 to 18 years old." The only mention of it online was a single Yelp listing, which gave an address registered to Rene Saintizaire.

"We believe it was more aspirational in nature," PCSO spokesperson Scott Wilder said in an email. "We have not found any customers or clients. No one has come forward to us after the news broke about her abuse."

Wilder said the PCSO talked to neighbors and found no evidence of children being picked up or dropped off at the residence and no evidence of a daycare. There were also no communications about it on her phone, he said.

"So, at this point, we find no indication that she operated a transport or day care type business," Wilder said, "except for the Facebook page (which had little or no associated comments)."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Davenport, Florida woman charged in death of 4-year-old adopted son